Are you using Iwan Fals' song 'Wakil Rakyat' in your class? If
you are, I just want to share my comments with you.
As you may recall, in the song we find these
words/sentences:
"Saudara dipilih
bukan dilotre
Meski kami tak kenal
siapa Saudara"
Please let's not forget to give an introduction on this. The
sentences in bold (above) are not applicable anymore in the 2004
elections, because it's changed quite significantly now. This change
is reflected in the ballot papers. The above sentence is still true in
the 1999 elections, because people only voted for parties, ie without
knowing who the candidates were (calon wakil rakyat), let alone their
photographs.
So, 'mencoblos partai' (punching the party symbol) was all
they did in 1999, something like 'writing a blank cheque'.
However, in the 2004 elections, beside party symbols we also had
lists of names (for calon Wakil Pusat) as well as pictures (for calon
Wakil Daerah). So, people DO know who the 'calon' was for that party,
and on the voting day they could 'coblos' both the party AND the
name(s)/picture(s). Voters would have 'known' (ie 'kenal') the
candidates from the intensive 'pendidikan pemilu' held before the
voting day. At least this 'pendidikan pemilu' was what we did for
Indonesian nationals in NSW, Qld, and SA (I joined the
'pendidikan pemilu' held in Sydney and Adelaide).
If you want to look at the ballot papers (specimens), please
check these websites.
1. For the 1999
ballot paper: click on http://www.un.or.id/ge
Then go to 'photo gallery'; and go to 'election materials'; then
click on 'ballot paper (specimen)'. You'll see that it only has names
and symbols of parties.
2.For the 2004
ballot paper: click on http://www.cetro.or.id (cetro stands for centre
for electoral reform).
Then click on 'Pemilu 2004' (top left side); scroll down until
you see 'Contoh surat suara' [specimen of ballot paper] in the middle.
You'll see that the ballot paper has both names/symbols of parties and
names of candidates and their photos (for regional candidates).
Also, please don't forget that you can also click on
http://www.kpu.go.id/Booklet/booklet_list.php
to view leaflets/posters/booklets, etc for the 2004
elections.
Similar materials for the 1999 elections are found on the United
Nations home page above. Please note that 'kpu' in this site stands
for Komisi Pemilihan Umum (electoral commission).
Additional Notes on the song:
Despite the above changes, of course we still see (for example on
SCTV or RCTI or Metro TV) that some 'wakil rakyat' still fall asleep
'waktu sidang soal rakyat', so that particular stanza in the song,
sadly, still applies (ADUH!! kasihan rakyat Indonesia).
The last stanza also deserves comments/introduction:
"Wakil rakyat
bukan paduan suara
hanya tahu nyanyian
lagu setuju"
The above stanza does not quite picture the current situation
anymore. We can see now (in the same Indonesian TV channels mentioned
above) that the 'wakil rakyat' does not sing 'lagu setuju' anymore--
they literally and physically fought for showing 'lagu TIDAK setuju'.
Horas bah!!! (as the Bataknese would say)
Stanza four is what the 'wakil rakyat' do nowadays:
"Bicaralah yang lantang
jangan hanya diam"
To some, it's even felt 'terlalu lantang'
and 'kasar'.
Oke deh, teman-teman. Selamat mengajar
'Wakil Rakyat' dengan perubahan di atas.
